Forest Therapy
In a rocky piece of terrain, a train was rolling down the tracks hauling a single carriage. Inside was all the wealth and money that Canterlot had been storing within its vault. Tons of bits, jewels and ancient artefacts and relics, all making their way across the desert. The driver, fire and break pony were the only ones there, the three not expecting any kind of trouble.
However, they soon went wide-eyed as they saw a house-sized rock on the side of the tracks with a sign up ahead that gave warning.
DANGER!
TRACK OUT OF COMMISSION!
The three shared a glance, only for their eyes to go wide when they saw the track right beside the large rock really was out of commission. As in, it had been completely ripped up and destroyed. They hit the breaks at this, the train jolting as it began to lose speed, barely managing to come to a stop before the end of the tracks. The ponies jumped out and ran toward the track, looking down at it and seeing that the damage done to it seemed to be new. Somepony had done this on purpose...and recently.
Magical blasts then began raining down upon them, the three screaming as they saw a unicorn and two pegasi up above, the unicorn firing streams of magic. The pegasi then shot down, quickly tying them up in a flurry of motion. As this happened, the unicorn laughed as an earth pony ran around the giant rock, pulling a large wagon behind him. "With them out of the way, all that money and wealth will be mine!"
The others nodded at this, only for a fireball to suddenly hit the ground in front of the unicorn. This made them come to a stop, spinning around to see a figure on the giant rock, now in front of the sun that appeared to be a pegasus.
"Better stick a fork in your sides!" The pony exclaimed before leaping at them, "Because you mooks are done!" The figure flew over their heads and landed atop the train carriage, revealing their identity to all: Fire Heart.
"A kid?" The unicorn asked as Heart's entire body burst into flames.
"Feel the heat!" He quickly unleashed a stream of fire, striking and knocking back the unicorn. He screamed as he was burnt, the others looking shock as Heart leapt down and threw a flaming fist right into a pegasi's face. He then spun around and launched several fireballs from his tail, hitting the other pony and setting parts of his coat ablaze.
Heart landed and slowly turned to the pegasus, making him gulp as he tried to backpedaled. Heart prepared to attack and as he used his back hoof flames to propel him forward, the pegasus got to his hooves. "I surrender!"
But Heart continued to charge, slamming a flaming punch into their face, burning him as well. Now neutralized, Heart panted as he glanced around, waiting for the thugs to get up, "Come on! I know you're just faking it to make me lower my guard. Well, it won't work." But they didn't move. Instead, they vanished.
The train then vanished as well, followed by the tracks, rocks and entire landscape. In its place, the Castle of Friendship's training room appeared and Heart turned to one of the walls. Flash was leaning against it, frowning with his hooves crossed. "Why'd you stop?" Heart asked as his flames vanished, "I was just about to start really teaching them a lesson!"
"You beat them," Flash replied, "You didn't need to keep fighting. They were down."
"Better to be safe than sorry," Heart countered, "How many times have you beaten an opponent, only to find they can still fight?"
"None," Flash instantly responded, "Because them being unable to fight any more is the definition of beating somepony. But that's not the biggest issue here. Heart, you went way too far in that fight." Heart tilted his head at this, "You burned those ponies. Seriously burned them. If they were real, they would have been in absolute agony and would have spent the rest of their lives horribly deformed."
"So?" Heart asked, "They were bad guys."
"That doesn't give you the right to do those kinds of things. If this had been real, those ponies could have sued you even if they would have the spend the rest of their lives in jail. You think you'll ever get to be a knight with something like that on your record?"
Heart glanced away at this, but said nothing, the sight making Flash sigh. "Heart...you have to stop being so aggressive. There are times when you need to pull your punches."
"But-"
Heart's words drowned out as he saw Flash point a hoof at him, "No. We're done here."
"B-b-but I can still train!" Heart replied, "Put the simulation up again! I'll beat them without burning them."
"But what about the next simulation?" Flash asked with crossed hooves again, "Am I gonna have to remind you to not charbroil the next lot of ponies you fight?" Heart flinched at that, only for Flash to add, "I know you're still upset about what happened with Cozy," he flinched at hearing that name. "But until you can get over this, I'm not training you anymore."
Heart's eyes went wide, tears about to appear, "You mean...you're gonna stop being my teacher?"
The knight shook his head, "No. But it's clear your training won't go anywhere until you deal with this issue." Flash then spun around and walked away, leaving the colt to just sit there with a huge frown on his face.
A little while later...
Flash and Grand were on patrol together now, his old mentor sighing as Flash finished his story, "You were right to halt his training," Grand commented as they turned a corner. "But I'm afraid you can't expect him to just get over what happened. The colt needs somepony to help him through this."
"I know," Flash responded, "But what am I supposed to do? I don't have any experience when it comes to overcoming heartbreak. I don't know anypony that does."
"True," Grand shrugged as they turned another corner and saw somepony trying to pick up a bunch of dropped oranges. "Surprisingly, all the relationships in this town seem to be going quite well. I know about ten ponies in Canterlot who had horrible breakups."
"Exactly," the pair helped the earth pony pick up the oranges as they continued, "And it's not like we have a therapist in town to go to. Not since the last one we helped moved away. Where'd he go again?"
"I think he went to become an engineer somewhere out in the desert," Grand replied, "I believe he's somewhere called...Coal Town." Flash let out a long sigh, only for mentor to put a hoof on his shoulder, "Flash, you need to do something. Heart's not gonna get any better on his own, and as his mentor, it's your responsibility to help him through this."
"I know. I just...don't know what to do."
"Flash...he's a kid." The defender turned his head to his mentor, "Try and take his mind off of it. You said he seemed to perk up in Aurarora once he started having fun there, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then try and think of something fun that the two of you could do." Flash put his hoof to his chin, only for a bulb to go off in his head. Grand chuckled as he saw Flash smirk, "Thought of something?"
"I got an idea or two."
The Castle of Friendship...
Inside the place, all its occupants were in the library, enjoying themselves. Soul and Starlight were playing chess, Twilight reading a new book she had just gotten, Spike sleeping and Scootaloo reading a comic. The only one not enjoying himself was Heart, who was laying on the couch, looking up at the ceiling.
They were all in a comfortable silence, at least until Flash threw the door open and stepped inside. "You!" He pointed at Heart, making the colt's head shoot up, "Pack your things."
Heart's eyes went wide. "You're kicking me out!?" He leapt off the couch and flew over to Flash's hooves. "I know you're mad about what happened earlier, but please give me another chance! I won't survive out there! I don't even know how to do laundry!"
"What?!" Flash yelped before shaking his head, "Heart, I'm not kicking you out. We're going camping."
"We are?!" Heart went wide-eyed, the others turning to show a similar expression, "Why?"
"Why not? It'll be fun. Just you, me and a few other ponies I've invited. It'll be great."
"Awesome!" Heart got up, "I'll go pack!" He ran out of the room and Flash smirked as the others continued to stare at him.
"What are you planning?" Twilight asked as she closed her book.
"Grand said I should try and get Heart over Cozy by keeping his mind off of her," he replied, "So this weekend, I'm gonna keep him so busy with camping activities he won't have a second to think about her."
"You really think that's gonna work?" Soul chimed in.
"No, but I don't have any other ideas. And if it doesn't work, I might consider asking Twilight to just zap all his memories of Cozy out of his head." Twilight glared at him at this, "It's a joke...but you know-"
"No!" Twilight opened her book again. "So, who else is going on this trip? You said you invited a few more ponies. Anypony we know?" Flash smirked at the question, making Twilight raise an eyebrow.
The next day...
The Rune Gate lit up before a pair of ponies stepped through the pillar of light. It was Ruby Scarlet and Jaden Chalice, the pair having saddlebags on their back. And as they stepped out of the gate, they saw Flash, Heart and Twilight waiting for them with the males carrying their own bags.
Ruby smiled as she moved over to hug Twilight, "It's great to see you."
"It's great to see you to," Twilight replied as Jaden went over to high-hoof Heart. But when he did this, Jaden noticed the colt's usual enthusiasm wasn't there.
"You okay?" Heart didn't respond, only for the Rune Gate to activate again. This time, three individuals walked out into the room. First Aid, Heather Bloom, and to Heart and Jaden's surprise, the young filly known Asclepia, also known as Raisins.
"Hey," Raisins smirked with a wave. "Long time no see."
"Yeah," Heart nodded, "Still haven't forgiven you for terrifying us back then."
"Oh, come on. It was just a joke."
"What are you even doing here?" Jaden added, "Ruby said this was a camping trip for knights and their apprentices." Raisins smirked, making the pair's eyes go wide. "No way."
"Asclepia has a pretty impressive knowledge of medical magic," First declared, "She has also been studying under Heather to improve her botanist skills."
"So, you're both taking her on as your apprentice?" Ruby asked, the pair nodding. "Interesting. I've never heard of two knights training one pony. But I guess there's no rule against it."
"Exactly," Heather giggled, "Besides, somepony will need to be there to patch the knights up in a fight. From what I heard, Heart can be just as accident prone as his mentor." Flash rolled his eyes at this.
"Anyways, four knights and three apprentices, you all ready to go camping? This'll be a tough exercise." Twilight annouced as they all nodded, the alicorn activating the Rune Gate to the location Flash had decided on. And with one final kiss between Flash and Twilight, the seven stepped through the light and vanished.
In a forested area, a pillar of light exploded out of the ground. From it, the seven ponies appeared, all glancing around to see that the place was very tranquil, not looking like it had ever been touched by pony hoof. That is, till Flash said, "There's a town a mile or so north of here, so if something goes wrong, we can head there. But hopefully, we won't need to go there since we have everything we need to survive on."
Heather walked over to some flowers and smiled, "These plants are in pristine condition." She looked up at the canopy, seeing it was open enough for sunlight to come through. "It's clear these woods are being well taken care of."
"Taken care of?" Heart asked, "Who's taking care of them?"
"Most likely the ponies in town," Heather replied, "They must cultivate the land to keep the ecosystem in balance."
"Why would they do that?" Jaden added, "Isn't them messing with things knocking the ecosystem out of whack?"
Heather laughed at this and shook her head, "Only a fool would think letting a forest get overgrown is the ecosystem in balance. The truth is, if a non-magical forest was left on its own, it would become a disaster zone. Too many trees would end up growing, and when that happened, the canopy becomes too thick for rainwater to reach the ground. And since there's more trees, they would all compete over the lesser water. Can anypony tell me what happens if a tree doesn't get enough water?"
"It dies?" Heart asked.
"Actually," Raisins chimed in, "They dry up first. And they can get that way for a long time before either falling to the ground on their own or getting knocked over."
"Correct," Heather nodded, "And if all the trees in the forest become dry, all it takes is one little spark to set one on fire and this place would become a massive blanket of flames in minutes."
"So you're saying ponies need to chop down trees to stop from making forest fires?" Jaden asked.
"Not just the trees," Heather pointed at the bushes and other undergrowth. "They can also set small, controlled fires to burn away the excess foliage. That ash will also help keep the ground fertile, encouraging new and healthy plants to take their place."
"Huh," Flash replied, "I never realized how much ponies had to do to keep forests like this one so beautiful."
Ruby nodded in agreement as Heather smiled, "The thing to remember is that ponies are a part of nature. Sometimes, we can be a little heavy hoofed in protecting a forest from any harm that we forget sometimes we need to destroy a little to protect a lot. It's like that old saying goes. No pain, no gain."
The others nodded at this as they all began to hike through the woods in search of a campsite. It took them a little while, only to soon find an area of the forest that was flat, clear of vegetation, and provided enough cover in case it rained. "Alright," Flash took off his saddlebag, "Time to give out some jobs. Who wants to go find some water?"
"I'll do that," Raisins instantly chimed in.
"Nice," Flash nodded, "And we also need some firewood. Heart and Jaden, you two think you can do that?" The pair nodded and the three young ponies walked off, Raisen taking a bucket First had pulled out of his bag after removing the shrinking spell on it. Heart and Jaden stepped back into the woods, Flash calling out after them. "Don't go too far. And make sure the wood's dry!"
The pair disappeared into the trees, Flash then turning to the other adults. "Thanks for helping with this. I know you all probably had a lot to do."
"We have been looking to take a break from our work," First responded, "All work and no play makes First a dull colt." Heather and Ruby laughed at this, clearly getting a reference to something Flash didn't know. "Anyway, I am sure this will do the young ones a lot of good. And help your apprentice overcome his heartbreak."
"I hope so," Flash nodded, "I know you all don't have any experience with this kind of thing-"
"Speak for yourself," Ruby interrupted as she started setting up the tent. "Are you forgetting my best friend turned into a shadow monster and brainwashed my entire city?"
Flash flinched at this, only for First to add, "I was also betrayed by somepony I trusted. When I learned what he did, I felt like I could never trust anypony ever again."
"What happened?" Flash asked.
"I met Heather," First replied as the mare in question smiled. "She needed somepony to look after her, and that forced me to put aside my own feelings of betrayal. Before I realized it, I trusted her with my life and realized I could trust others to."
"I was the same way," Ruby nodded, "I had Luna and Celestia to trust. And whilse it took a bit after coming to this time, I learned to trust you and your friends."
"So why is Heart having such a hard time accepting that he needs to stop letting Cozy get to him?"
"He probably doesn't realize what she's done to him," Heather responded, "From what you've said, this Cozy girl was more than just a friend. The fact is that the deeper somepony is in your heart, the more damage that pony can do if they betray you. Think about it. Take Twilight and a pony in Ponyville you barely talk to." Flash did so, imagining Twilight and his barber. "Now imagine what would happen if the two of them betrayed you in the exact same way." He grimaced at this, "The thought of Twilight betraying you hurts more than the other pony, huh?"
"A hundred times more," Flash sighed, "This isn't unfixable, is it?"
"Nothing is unfixable unless you let it be," First replied, "But you can not force it. There is no magic spell that will make it happen. The only one that can make the first move is Heart. He has to decide to get over what happened. Until he decides that, nothing you do will help. All you can do is be there of him, ready to help when he wants you to help."
Flash crossed his hooves at this, sighing as he had no choice but to agree.
Heart and Jaden continued to search the woods, having found a few dry twigs on the ground. And as Heart picked up another, he threw it away when he saw it was too wet. Jaden picked up another stick and found it was dry, soon adding it to the pile that was floating above them in his magic. And as he did, Jaden saw Heart wasn't making even a sound. Jaden had expected him to start singing or something like their test a while back, only to see nothing. As such, he decided to start humming.
Heart heard this and glanced at Jaden, who was humming the tune Heard had sung when they had been travelling together. "What are you doing?"
"What?" Jaden asked, "It's a catchy song. Don't be such a grumpy gus." He started singing out loud, but Heart remained stoic, Jaden then stopping as he turned back to Heart, "Alright then. If you really wanna play hardball, I'll just use the song nopony can resist singing along to." Heart raised an eyebrow as Jaden cleared his throat. "Lollipop, lollipop. Oh, lolly, lolly, lolly. Lollipop, lollipop. Oh lolly, lolly, lolly-"
He stopped singing and waited, as Heart's face started to twitch before yelling, "Lollipop!" Jaden laughed at this before he started singing again, Heart singing with him, "Lollipop, lollipop. Oh, lolly, lolly, lolly. Lollipop!" The pair made a popping sound with their hooves and mouth. "See?" Jaden saw Heart was now smiling, "That wasn't so bad now, was it?"
"Shut up," Heart tried to stop smiling, but was having a hard time not smirking. Jaden continued singing and now, Heart couldn't fight against it. The pair sang every song they knew as they gathered the last of the dry twigs they would need before heading back. And when they got there, they saw the older ponies had the site set up. There was one tent for Flash and Heart, one for Jaden and First and a larger one for Ruby, Heather and Raisins.
Raisins had also returned with a bucket full of water and was now helping Ruby as the crystal pony set up the firepit they would use to keep warm and roast any food. Unlike a normal fire pit, this one was using crystal spikes in place of rocks. Jaden put the twigs down and moved over to sit beside Heather as Ruby took some of the sticks and placed them into the fire pit. "Alright," she held up two rocks, "Now the trick to this is to get the right stone and hit them together in the right way." She showed Raisins the angle to hit them at and let the young pony begin to hit the rocks together.
Raisin kept scraping and scraping, attempting to get a spark to appear. After a few attempts, a spark did fly off the rocks into the fire pit, but the sticks didn't catch light, making her try again. Another spark, but again it did nothing. At her third attempt, she looked like she was getting annoyed, only for a small fireball to fly down and ignite the sticks.
"Hey!" Raisins looked up at Heart, who extinguished his hoof and gave her a glare.
"What? You were talking forever."
"Heart..." Flash chastised him. "You shouldn't have done that. Raisins needed to learn how to start a fire herself. Not everypony has your abilities, remember?" Heart huffed and glanced away, making Flash sigh, "Well, with the fire lit, let's get the s'mores going. Then we can decide what we're gonna do on this trip."
"You haven't decided?" Jaden asked.
"I'm open to suggestions," Flash replied as he took out some marshmallows. "There's a ton of things we can do around here. Like hiking."
"Oh," Heather clapped her hooves, "We could make a list of different flora and fauna and see who can be the first one to tick them all off when they see them."
"That sounds fun," Ruby giggled, "If there's a cave around here, we could go spelunking."
"I would have thought you'd have had enough of caves after what happened the last time you were in one," Flash chuckled. "One of my students at the school once told me of an interesting activity: Fishing."
"Fishing?" First asked, "What's that?"
"It's where you get a rod, some string and a hook and you dangle it in some fish-filled water and wait to see if the fish catch it. Then you pull it up."
"Why would you do that?" Raisins asked while looking disgusted.
"Well, he's a griffon," Flash replied, "And they eat stuff ponies don't usually enjoy. Though considering your reaction, I guess fishing's out of the question." The others nodded as they used some sticks to roast the marshmallows. When they were all melted, a few took theirs off the sticks and placed them between two crackers while the others simply ate it off the stick. The only one who didn't take it away from the fire was Heart, as it was starting to turn almost black.
"Heart," Raisins poked him with her stick, "I think it's cooked." Heart glared at her before chomping into his blackened marshmallow. "Would you lighten up? You're being all moody."
"Yeah," Jaden nodded, "Why are you so grumpy today?"
"I'm fine," Heart grumbled, "Let's just...go on a hike or something and try to find some of that stuff Heather was talking about." The others frowned as he got up and walked away, Flash quickly getting up to follow. The others put their stuff into their tents as First used a barrier to surround the fire and block out the oxygen. This caused it to burn itself out, but still be ready for relighting when they needed it.
The group then followed after Flash and Heart, catching up as the pair hiked through the forest. "Do you have any idea where you're even going?" Jaden asked.
"Nope," Heart shook his head, "But isn't that the whole point of a hike? To see where the trail leads you?"
"No," Heather responded, "The point is to look around and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature." Heart didn't seem to take this statement well, making Heather stop. "Just, stand still for a moment." They all did so and Heather put her hoof to her mouth, telling them to be quiet as she gestured around them.
Everypony glanced around, only to hear movement over by one of the bushes. They all turned to it, but Heart got into a fighting stance and looked ready to start launching fireballs at it, only for Heather to mouth to him to not make a move.
A second later, a bunny leapt out of the bush. It was followed by several smaller bunnies, a whole family of rabbits. They all looked completely calm, bouncing around while not even caring that the ponies were there. The seven watched them, most hopping while others ate grass and kept a watchful eye out for predators. They all looked so cute, and the ponies could watch them for hour...except for one.
"Is that it?" Heart asked, his voice scaring the rabbits and causing them to all jet off. The others turned to glare at the colt, "What?! Fluttershy has more bunnies at her place then anywhere in Equestria!"
"Well, we don't live near Fluttershy," Jaden pointed out, "So excuse us for enjoying the sight." Raisins nodded as Heather started to walk again.
"There's more here than just bunnies," she chimed in, "All you have to do is look and stay very quiet." They soon followed, continuing their hike and stopping several times to see an interesting species of bird or bug. She would also stop whenever she saw a rare breed of flower, explaining why it was so rare and what properties it had. All were listening eagerly, but Heart just seemed to be on edge now.
Flash saw this and walked over to him, tapping his side with a wing. The colt glanced up at him as the defender whispered, "Relax. I don't think anything here's gonna be of any threat to us."
"I'd rather not be taken by surprise again," Heart replied as they heard a cricket chirp.
Flash sighed and shook his head, "You're not gonna enjoy yourself if you're constantly stressing about stuff like that. Just try and relax. If anything happens, the adults will handle it."
Heart just looked away, grumbling as they continued their hike for another hour before heading back as the sun began to set. They reached their campsite before it got dark, seeing that nothing seemed to have stumbled upon it. As such, they all sat down and Raisins once again tried to start a fire, managing to get it lit on the third try.
Once the fire was burning brightly, Jaden pulled out some playing cards and asked if anypony wanted to play, Raisins happily agreeing, but Heart didn't seem interested. Jaden and Raisins then split the deck, Raisins getting the red cards and Jaden the black. The pair then shuffled and spread the cards out face down, each of them picking one. "Three of clubs!" Jaden announced as he showed it to her.
"Five of diamonds!" Raisins smirked, "I win." Jaden moaned as Raisins laughed, the adults chuckling at the fun they were having. They both picked another random card and when they showed them to each other, Jaden cheering when he got the higher card this time.
On the third round, Raisins drew an ace and frowned. "Is this high or low?" She asked as Jaden tried to pick a card.
"It counts as a one, except if your opponent has a king. Then it counts as a higher number." He smirked, since the chances of him picking one of the two kings was impossible. But then he drew his card and when he saw what he got, his face fell. "A king?! How?!" Raisins cheered as the others laughed, Heart being the only one to stay quiet.
"Are you sure you don't wanna play?" Raisins asked him, "We could play a three pony game if you want."
"No thanks," Heart replied.
"Come on," Jaden added, "You can't spend the whole night looking at the fire. You'll go blind." Heart rolled his eyes and didn't reply, Jaden letting out a huff next, "What is with you? I thought this was gonna be fun because you were here, but you've been nothing but a buzzkill the entire trip. Just getting you to sing earlier was a challenge."
"Maybe I've just outgrown that kind of stuff," Heart grumbled.
"Outgrown it?" Raisins asked, "This is what you're supposed to do on a camping trip."
"Raisins," First warned, "That's enough."
"But there's something wrong with him," Raisins barked back, "He was way more happy and expressive the last time I met him. And his sister said he's always got a smile on his face. So why is it he's so grumpy and moody right now?"
"Yeah," Jaden nodded, "What happened to the pony that helped me show my skills to Ruby even though I was super nervous?"
"Nothing. I just grew up."
"Flash is grown up, and he's able to at least crack a smile." Heart grit his teeth at this as Jaden added, "I thought we were friends. Friends tell each other what's wrong with them."
"NOTHING'S WRONG!" Heart screamed, making everypony flinch as he got up. "I'm sorry I'm not the gullible idiot you remember me as! But if I'm gonna be a Royal Knight, I can't let anything lower my guard! I let somepony trick me and it almost caused all the magic in Equestria to be lost, destroying it. And when I let my guard down again, me and my friends get framed for a murder and almost have a war with the jakhowls start. Then, I lowered my guard again and the Elements of Harmony are destroyed and I get turned into somepony's mind slave! I'm not gonna let it happen again!"
The ponies all stared at Heart, Flash sighing as he reached out a hoof at him, "Heart...what happened those times wasn't your fault. You can't let those events change who you are."
"Why not?! I lost one home from something I couldn't control and I almost lost my home again because I trusted somepony that I shouldn't have! I'm not gonna let that happen again." He turned to Jaden and Raisins, "You two can mess around like a bunch of foals if you want, but we're supposed to be the future protectors of Equestria. So we need to be serious or the whole world will be destroyed!"
And before anyone could say anything, Heart spread his wings and shot into the dark of the forest. "HEART!" Flash yelled, only for Ruby and First to grab him. "Let go of me!"
"Hold on. Maybe you should leave this to us," First chimed in first.
Ruby nodded, "I think we'll be able to get through to him better then you can." Flash turned back to them, seeing two glares. The sight made him sigh, nodding as he sat back down.
"Got it. Just..." Flash glanced away, "Help him. Please."
"We will." Ruby replied as the two walked away, Heather walking up and patting Flash on the shoulder. And as this happened, Raisins and Jaden just sat there with wide eyes, Flash and Heather seeing this and sighing, as they knew this would be a long story.
Ruby and First found Heart a little aways away, the colt having gathered some stones and currently chucking them at a tree. Each hit the trunk several times, making notable clunking noises as he sat down on a log. "You know," Ruby spoke up, making him turn to her, "No matter how hard you throw that rock, you're not gonna make the tree feel as much pain as you."
Heart growled at her before dropping a stone, Ruby and First sitting down next to him. "That was quite the performance you gave," First said first, "I hope that little outburst made you feel better."
"It didn't."
"Good. I would be worried if it had. Making others feel bad should never give you any comfort."
"Why are you here?" Heart asked, "Shouldn't you be taking care of your own students?"
"There's nothing wrong with Royal Knights helping the apprentices of other knights," Ruby added, "And it's clear that Flash needs all the help he can get with your little attitude problem."
"I don't have an attitude problem!" Heart jumped up to try and fly away, but the pair grabbed him in their magic, pulling him back onto the log. "Hey!"
"We beg to differ about your attitude problem," First stated, "Flash has told us this has been a problem for a while, ever since your unfortunate parting with a young filly." Heart flinched at this, "It is okay to feel upset, but you should not take your frustrations out on your friends."
"I'm not upset."
"Yes, you are." Ruby sighed, "And it's time you accepted it. You think you're doing the right thing, being all serious and constantly trying to be tough and gruff, but that's not helping you."
Heart just glanced away, "I let Cozy make a fool out of me. She used me because she knew she could. I was around her a ton and I didn't see what she was doing. I let her pull the wool over my eyes and blind me from seeing what she truly was. And because of that, she almost drained all the magic in Equestria and would have killed Flash and the entire world."
"But were you the only one she fooled?" First asked.
"No. But I was the one around her the most. I should have seen something. But I was too busy having fun with her to see anything."
"So you're gonna let the pony that fooled you dictate how you're going to act from now on?" Ruby asked, Heart's head darting over to the knight, "You think because Cozy tricked you that there was something wrong with you that needed changing?"
"I do need to change! I trusted her without even thinking she could be hiding something. If I hadn't been so open with her, maybe I would have seen something."
"So you plan to simply not trust anypony ever again?" First asked, Heart opening his mouth in response, but nothing came out, "So you do not trust Flash anymore?"
"Of course I trust Flash!"
"What about Twilight? Soul? Celestia? Us?"
"I trust all of you," Heart growled.
"You thought you knew Cozy," First replied, "But the simple fact is, trust is as dangerous as it is rewarding. Anypony you trust has the capability of using that trust against you. But that does not mean it's better to never trust anypony."
"He's right," Ruby nodded. "I did that. When I first came here, I didn't want to trust anypony else. With what my best friend did, it felt like trusting another pony would only end the same way. Because of that, I went out to fight Sombra on my own and almost got myself turned into an umbrum. If your mentor hadn't been there for me, I would have likely died and been reborn pure evil."
"You have a long road ahead of you," First added, "And you cannot walk it alone. You need ponies you can trust to walk besides you. Ones you know and already trust, and ones that you have yet to meet." He looked Heart straight in the eye. "One day you might meet somepony that could have been a great friend to you. Who might have even saved your life in a situation. But if you keep acting this way, you will likely push them away. And it is a slippery slope between pushing future friends away and pushing past friends away. Eventually, you will be all alone."
"So...so what do I do?" Heart asked, "Go back to being the gullible idiot that anypony can trick?"
"Of course not," Ruby shook her head, "But you shouldn't let what Cozy did to you destroy the kind pony Flash chose to be his apprentice. If you do, she'll have won. Letting your enemies get to you will also grant them victory. If they know they can make you do something you'll regret, they'll do whatever it takes to make you lose yourself. And even if they lose the battle, they'll win the war if they're able to change you."
Heart just stared the two, those words entering his ears. He had been feeling miserable lately, but every time he thought about it, he remembered what almost happened...and he hated it.
"We are not telling you to trust whoever you meet," First continued, "But you cannot constantly be untrusting either."
"So...what do I do?"
"There is an area between trust and mistrust," First responded, "Whenever you meet somepony new, place them in that category. You do not have to trust them, but you have to give them a chance to earn your trust. You are right that you trusted Cozy too quickly. But simply not trusting her from the start would not have been a good idea."
"So you're saying when I met Cozy, I should have still been nice to her but not completely open?"
"Exactly," Ruby nodded, "Your heart should have a door. One that isn't locked, or wide open. It should be ajar enough for somepony to look inside, but still able to be shut itself if and when that pony should do something you don't find trustworthy. Understand?"
Heart slowly nodded, feeling a few tears appear under his eyes. He took several deep breaths, trying to clear his head, but found unable. Instead, he thought back to Flash, his mentor. Flash was anything but closed off, but he was the strongest pony Heart knew. His mind then thought back to the last Hearts and Hooves Day, when he had learned about love. He had learned so much on that day, but it was Iron's words that were now flowing through his mind.
"A heart can't survive without being fed. And once it's dead, it's almost impossible to revive. It'll just rot away, taking everything within you along with it. You'll stop caring about others and slowly start thinking the only pony you have to look out for is yourself."
Iron was right. He didn't want to be a heartless pony. He also knew that Ruby and First were also right. Cozy might have hurt him, but letting that make him close himself off was just gonna give her another victory over him. If Heart wanted to truly put Cozy behind him, he couldn't let her change him.
"She won't," Heart leapt off the log as Ruby and First raised eyebrows at him, "I'm not gonna let Cozy decide who I am anymore. If she wanted to hurt me, I won't give her the satisfaction in winning."
"Good," Ruby giggled, "But it won't be easy. You're not gonna simply start feeling better about everything in the blink of an eye."
"But you can start the process of healing," First finished, "Start by having fun and not feeling like you are making yourself vulnerable when you do. Trust us, you will be doing yourself a favor."
Heart nodded as the pair got up. "But before anything else," Ruby pointed at him. "You owe everypony an apology."
Heart flinched at this, only to sigh as the duo guided him back to the campsite. And as they arrived, they saw Flash and Heather telling the two young ponies what had happened to Heart. When they approached, they all turned to him, the colt glancing away.
"You okay now?" Flash asked, Heart slowly nodding.
"I wanna be okay. And I'm sorry for yelling at you all."
"It's okay," Raisins added, "We heard about what happened. I'd be upset too, if something like that happened to me." Jaden nodded in agreement.
"I just...don't wanna lose everything I have again. It's almost happened so many times that..."
"We understand," Heather interrupted, "I lost my family once, and was able to find another with First and the Royal Knights. Losing them would be heartbreaking."
The others nodded at this, all remembering their own issues of loss. And as this happened, Flash spoke up, "But you can't let that fear overcome you. Remember the first rule of being a knight."
Heart nodded again, the others staring at him as he slowly looked back at them. That is, till his eyes slightly widened, "Hey, what's that?" He pointed to something ahead of him, the group turning to see one section of the stars in the sky vanishing in an upwards line.
"That's...that's smoke." Flash commented as he got up. "That's the direction of the town." Everypony went wide-eyed at this, Flash and Heart taking to the air and flying toward the trailing smoke. And as they got higher, they noticed a light coming from the town's direction. Fire. "Come on!" Flash yelled, taking out his Celestic Gear.
Heart ignited his body and used his back hooves to jet propel himself forward, shooting past Flash as he quickly armorized to use his own boosters. The pair flew at high speed and quickly reached the town, which caused them both to gasp. The entire place was ablaze, ponies running around to try and put the flames out.
Except for a few, which were pushing other ponies around and carrying objects over to a cart. They laughed as they did so, making Flash and Heart glare them. These ponies had set this blaze to distract the ponies from stopping them.
"You stop them!" Flash ordered, "I'll handle the flames!" Heart nodded and the two split apart, Flash punching his boosters to their max as he started flying around the town in a circle. Within seconds, he created a tornado that was just strong enough to suck up the flames and nothing else, soon funneling the fire away.
As this happened, Heart flew down at the ponies responsible. He saw one of the ponies holding a dagger and looking ready to use it on a mare, the sight making him growl, only for Grand's words about letting anger wash over you, but not overcome you, enter his head. He took a deep breath to keep himself calm, but the anger pumped up his flames and he rocketed forward, catching the attention of the pony with the dagger.
"What the-" he yelped as he saw Heart fly down. And before he could react, Heart extinguished everything but his hooves to keep from burning the pony, instead tackling the pony, sending him flying back. He let out a scream, Heart pushing off of him and leaping back as the thug was flung into the side of a building.
The other ponies turned to this, seeing the colt land in front of the mare, glaring at the sight. "Seriously?! You let a kid get the better of you?!" But then, Heart's body burst into flames again.
The crooks flinched at this, most backpedaling as Heart yelled, "Give up! I don't wanna hurt you."
"There's no way that's real fire!" A unicorn exclaimed before launching a blast of magic, which hit the ground in front of Heart and caused an explosion.
The mare seeing this gasped, only to notice something above her and saw Heart jetting up into the air. "I warned you," he said as he charged downward, the unicorn firing again, but he unleashed a blast of fire that blocked the magic. This created a smoke cloud that Heart flew through, allowing him to reach unicorn. His flames went out at the last moment, Heart throwing a punch right into the thief's face. The unicorn screamed as he was struck, Heart's hoof still hot but not enough to burn him. The blow knocked him into the cart of stolen goods, two pegasi and an earth pony thief all gasping at this.
They then growled before attacking, Heart's body bursting into flames again and unleashing a wave of heat. The three hissed when they ran into this wave, feeling their coats threatening to blister as they staggered back. Heart then propelled himself, keeping his front hooves de-flamed so he wouldn't burn them with every punch. He reached a pegasus and slammed them in the face, making them stagger back as Heart spun around to duck under a punch by the other pegasus. He then grabbed his hoof and propelled himself in a circle, pulling the pegasus around before swinging him into the dirt.
The crook screamed in pain, Heart now turning to the earth pony. He charged at him, his hooves and wings blasting out fire. But just as he was about to get to him, the earth pony closed his eyes. "I SURRENDER!" He felt a wave a heat hit his skin at this...only to feel no punch. Instead, the heat he was expecting flew around and landed behind him.
Heart stood tall and spun around, seeing the ponies were all unconscious aside from the earth pony. He tried to think of a way to restrain him, but couldn't come up with an answer. But as this happened, the first pony got up from when he had been flung into the nearby house. He growled at this before grabbing his dagger and walking up to the mare that had been watching this event. She let out a scream, Heart spinning around to see the pony pinning the mare to the ground with his dagger pressed to her neck.
"Give it up kid. There's no way you can get over here in time to save her if you try. Surrender and let my friend capture you, or she dies." The mare screamed again, Heart glaring at the sight as he felt his rage building again.
But as he felt this, Ruby's words echoed in her head. "Letting your enemies get to you will also grant them victory. If they know they can make you do something you'll regret, they'll do whatever it takes to make you lose yourself. And even if they lose the battle, they'll win the war if they're able to change you."
Heart glared at the pony, only to lock eyes with the mare. Her's were filled with fear, and while he tried to convey a message of reassurance, the earth pony suddenly grabbed him by the hood. "Hey!"
"Don't try anything!" The dagger pony growled, pointing his blade at the colt. "Or else." Heart didn't get to learn what else he was talking about, as in that moment, a blue beam flew down from the air and slammed into his back. "AUGH!" This caused him to drop the dagger, Heart smiling at the sight. He quickly unleashed a wave of heat, causing the pony holding him to let go before propelling and slamming into the earth pony. He roared again, being knocked off of the mare and sent flying into another house.
Heart then looked up, seeing Flash hovering above them. He had clearly waited for the right moment to attack so the mare wouldn't be hurt. Flash smirked at the sight before seeing the ponies Heart had taken down. "Not bad," he stated as the earth pony picked himself up. He looked like he was about to make a run for it, but Flash quickly zipped over behind him. And he turned to run, Flash thrust armored punch into his face, instantly knocking him out as the other earth pony started to backpedal. That is, till a chain mace suddenly wrapped around his back leg.
He screamed as he was pulled off his hooves, his mouth hitting dirt as crystals grew around his body to lock him into place. Heart saw this and turned to see Heather and Ruby, the Flower Knight retracting her Celestic Gear as Ruby turned to the other criminals and quickly trapped everything but their heads in gems. The colt sighed in relief, looking over at the town and seeing that Flash had managed to put it all out as Raisins and First began checking the civilians.
Flash stepped up to him at this, "You did good kid." Heart couldn't help but smile at this, something that made Flash smile back. He knew Heart would still have a long road to go before he was ready to move on, but he was confident the colt would overcome this. And he would be stronger for doing so.
Three days had passed since Flash and his camping troop had left. Twilight and Soul were in the castle, staring at the Rune Gate as it activated. And from it, Flash stepped out, followed by Heart and the others. Twilight smiled at the sight, only to turn and see a big smile on Heart's face.
"So?" She asked, her question mostly directed to Heart. "Did you have a good time?"
"It was the best!" Heart cheered, "We went hiking and found a cave to explore! We even got to fight against some crooks!" Both alicorns went wide-eyed at this statement, Twilight turning to Flash who shrugged and nodded. "Hey, Soul." His sister turned back to him, "I'm sorry I've been so moody lately. I wanna try and put what happened with Cozy behind me."
Soul nodded back with a smile, "I'm glad. She didn't deserve you." She moved over to hug her brother, who hugged her back before they and the other young ponies stepped out of the room. Once they were gone, Twilight focused back on the adults.
"What do you think? Is he over what happened?"
"Not by a long shot," Ruby replied, "What happened with Cozy scarred him for life. Scars don't always heal, but they do fade." The others nodded, agreeing with her assessment. "Heart's taken the first step to overcoming this pain. He's finally ready to move on and let the scars fade."
First continued, "One day, what happened will be nothing more than a bad memory. But until then, you, Flash and everypony else, will have to still be there for him."
"I understand." Twilight replied, only to add, "Though uh...what's this about these crooks you fought."
The adults sighed as Flash responded, "Relax. We dealt with them and managed to get in touch with some guards. They're on their way to prison as we speak."
Meanwhile...
The band of thieves were currently travelling in an armored police wagon, being pulled by ponies and protected by guards. The ponies were all sitting there, stewing in their own defeat. They were angry at the colt that had done most of the damage, but they were also angry at the pegasus who had prevented them from regaining the upperhoof.
"When I get out of here," the dagger wielding pony growled, "I'm gonna make them all pay."
The others nodded, only for the wagon to suddenly rock. Cries and screams rang out next, making the thieves all glance around. And after a minute of this, the sounds went completely silent. "What just happened?" The unicorn asked, nopony knowing the answer.
Suddenly, the doors of the wagon flew off its hinges and light poured into the construct. A magical blast quickly followed, hitting the chains locking them together, turning them into black sand that slid off. The band of crooks glanced at each other before walking out of the wagon, only to see the guards and other ponies all laid out on the ground around them. "What the heck happened to them?" A pegasus asked, only for a sound to make him spin around.
They all looked atop the wagon, now seeing a pony in black armor staring down at them as a pair of shadowy wings flowed from his back. "Who...who are you?" The other earth pony asked as the figure remained quiet.
"Flash Sentry," he replied, "He is the pegasus that defeated you." The group glared at that statement, "Do you hate him? You must, since he was the reason that group of ponies was there. If not for him, your plan would have worked perfectly."
"Oh yeah, I hate him!" The unicorn growled, the others all nodding as the armored pony chuckled.
"Good. Then I will take that hatred and use it to destroy him." With that, the wings exploded into giant clouds that shot down and consumed the thieves. Their screams filled the air, only for everything to go black.
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Well, I am glad Heart no longer moped about Cozy's betrayal and focus on moving on with his life while putting Cozy behind.
And of course, Armalum won't stop until he avenges his master's death… through, what he did to the thieves are rather ominous.
Here's highlights
Ruby and Jaden are here! And they are the one that Heart get along with.
Oh… I means it make sense to bring First and Heather for a camping trip but I didn't expect to see Raisins again.
Welcome to the apprentice club, Raisins! Joins Heart, Jaden and Gallus!
Despite what he went through, it's nice to see Heart having fun singing Lollipop song with Jaden… even through it's only temporarily.
Oh no… Heart is bottling up! It's not very good to bottling up the emotions, the more you bottling up, it get worsen for you.
Oh no! Not him!
Wow… didn't see that coming.
he was acting a bit like Jason todd for a while but glad he recovering.
a good lesson on trust
No way, Dr. Wolf was in this story?! When?! Did i miss a chapter?!
Glad that Heart finally got it all out regarding *scummy* brat, alongside the recent events! Now he can finally start the healing process for real, course Junkpile seem to be feeding off Ponies negative encounters with Flash & CO from what I saw at the end there.......yikes!!!!
Highlights for this week's chapter include :
Whoa Heart, forgot to turn off charbroiled mode there!
LOL no one can't resist that song!!!
Wow guess that bottle finally popped!!!
That was profound!
Looking forward to more Banshee, later!
Nice to see Heart is finally starting to recover from Cozy's betrayal. Heart has been down in the dumps for the last few stories ever since that incident, but it is nice he finally realizes that he can't let that one bad experience define him from now on. Just like Soul said, Cozy didn't deserve Heart, but one day hopefully Heart will find someone that does.
I like how the other Knights got involved with helping Heart since they could relate to his feeling of anger and being betrayed a bit better, and why getting angry about it and pushing everyone away won't help. It was also interesting to see Raisins was now the apprentice of both First and Heather. I didn't think she made that good of an impression in her first appearances but this should definitely help her.
That ending scene with Armalum has me concerned though. We have no idea what he did to those crooks, but I doubt it was pleasant. I thought Armalum was going to try making his own villain team up like the Legion of Doom, but maybe he is trying something else.
That's a bit funny. I found Heart's situation with Cozy to more closely relate to Discord's advice about the dangers of a broken heart. But I guess Iron's advice was more beneficial.
Did you mean to say “backpedal” instead of “backpedaled”?
What about Spike?
Dr Wolf and Analysts Anarchy reference
That’s the second time you put a Shining reference in this series
Yes but you have been getting some feelings for him again don't deny it
Another great story. I’m glad Heart is starting to heal from Cozy’s betrayal, I hope he finds someone new and better than her. Can’t wait for the next chapter.
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Good point, but I feel this is a different kind of heartbreak. Spike was heart broken because he found out his crush was already dating someone else and she accidentally led him on. Heart however found out his crush was evil and manipulated him and his friends for months and almost killed them all.
What the heck?!!
Ugh. I sure hope this installment ends on a happy note because Heart being moody was a lot harder to endure than expected.
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At least Heart could burn Cozy Glow to get even, which Spike couldn't do to Lightning Blitz since he's one of the good guys now, hehe.
That was a joke, I wasnt speak seriously.
For that part, I hope Banshee writes his version of Dragon Dropped.